ACLU backing Fremont leaflet passers

Jace Radke

Friday, Nov. 12, 1999 | 11:04 a.m.

The rules governing the handing out of leaflets at the Fremont Street Experience in downtown Las Vegas are emerging as a central issue for the Nevada American Civil Liberties Union.

Incidents over the past few weeks have led state ACLU Executive Director Gary Peck to raise constitutional questions about the way Fremont Street security officials approach people handing out leaflets.

The tourist attraction is built around public streets, but it has been defined by the courts as a "non-public forum."

Thursday, Peck said his group believes that Fremont Street's handbill policies are in contrast with recent federal court decisions overturning local ordinances banning the distribution of fliers. He said the Nevada ACLU intends to file a motion in court next week asking that the attraction be held in contempt of court.

The most recent incident occurred Tuesday, when members of the Shundahai Network, an international anti-nuclear group, arrived at Fremont Street with leaflets, signs and drums.

Peck declares that the group was unlawfully badgered and inhibited and sides with their version of the story.

"They were trying to intimidate us," said Graham Sullivan, a member of the network, referring to the security officers.

"We got there around 5 p.m. after protesting the subcritical nuclear test at the Test Site in front of the Foley Federal Building."

Sullivan says that security met his group of seven people as they entered the Fremont Street Experience.

"They said they didn't have a problem with us distributing the fliers, but then they said we couldn't because at the bottom of the flier it gives a phone number and says to join us," Graham said. "They said we were soliciting if we had that on the fliers."

Graham said security agreed to allow the group to pass out their 60 or so fliers if they crossed out the letters "J" and "O" in join, so it read, "in us call," and the phone number.

"Even after that they followed us around and watched us closely," Graham said.

Mark Paris, Fremont Street Experience President, says he is confident that the group was approached in the standard, common procedure that is in accordance with the recent court decisions.

This morning, Paris said his security and maintenance people are regularly schooled by the Fremont Street legal staff and that they follow the orders received by the courts.

"We're not trying to do anything adversarial or work around what the courts have instructed us to do," Paris said. "We are trying desperately to follow the rules. It's to our advantage to follow rules. If we don't follow the rules, it causes problems, so why not follow the rules?"

With the security report from Tuesday in front of him, Paris explained what happened from his perspective.

Security officers responded Tuesday at about 4:35 p.m. to a report of several individuals walking through the mall carrying signs and drums and handing out literature, he said.

Security officials, because of the signs and drums, advised the group of the city ordinances regarding parading. The group members, he said, told security the signs and drums were holdovers from the protest at the federal building and would not be part of their activities at Fremont Street.

Paris said security officials said they could hand out literature as long as they were not soliciting or disrupting the flow of pedestrian traffic.

The crux of the issue then arose: Were they soliciting, which remains banned by the ordinances, or were they availing themselves of their First Amendment right to distribute handbills stating their points of view on issues?

Paris said the network members were asked to alter the language on the fliers asking people to join them. "In our interpretation that's soliciting," Paris said.

"We think we obeyed the rules, we were very nice to the people, they were allowed to be out on the mall. I don't understand the controversy."

But Peck said Thursday, "It seems like I'm down there every week" to defend the rights of those distributing handbills. "There have been four or five times recently that people have been harassed while handing out information and early next week the ACLU will file a motion against the Fremont Street Experience."

The motion, he said, will ask that the Fremont Street Experience be held in contempt of a September ruling by a federal judge, who decided against a Clark County ordinance prohibiting the distribution of handbills.

The county ordinance is similar to a Las Vegas ordinance that does not allow the distribution of any written or graphic materials at the Fremont Street Experience. It also does not allow groups to solicit support or money.

"In the last several months we've had several incidents where people are told that they can't leaflet on the Fremont Street Experience," ACLU Attorney Allen Lichtenstein said. "They still have signs up prohibiting leafletting. We've tried to get them to obey the law, and now we're asking the court to hold them in contempt to force them to obey the law."

Along with the U.S. District Court ruling allowing for handbills to be handed out in resort corridors the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has twice rejected the county's handbilling ordinance as unconstitutional.

In Tuesday's incident, the network members were asked to scratch out the two letters that were interpreted by the security officers as solicitation.

Peck said the idea that scratching out two letters made it OK to hand out the leaflets is laughable.

"Clearly it's OK to pass out the information whether it said in or join," Peck said. "Their narrow construction of soliciting is laughable and won't pass the giggle test in court."

Another network member said she doesn't understand the problems from security when she tries to pass out information at Fremont Street.

"I was down there on Oct. 22 to hand out information on police brutality, and we had problems then," Heather Burmeister said. "People down there are usually relaxed and receptive to taking our information, so that's why we go there.

"I don't understand why security has such a problem with it. We don't force the information on anyone. If they want it they take, and if they don't they don't."